climate and specialities

1. H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H
C L I M A T O L O G Y

2. L O C A T I O N O N T H E W O R L D M A P
B O R D E R I N G C O U N T R I E S : C H I N A
B O R D E R I N G
S T A T E S : J A M M U & K A S H M I R , P U N J A B , H A R Y A N A
U T T A R K H U N D
C O O R D I N A T E S : 3 1 . 1 0 4 8 ° N , 7 7 . 1 7 3 4 ° E

3. C O O R D I N A T E S 3 1 . 1 0 4 8 ° N , 7 7 . 1 7 3 4 °
E

4. C L I M A T E
• The state of Himachal Pradesh,
India is a hilly region and it
experiences a pleasant Climate
through out the year. It even
experiences heavy snow fall during
the winter months. The weather of
Himachal alters with the change of
altitude. The best time to visit the
state of Himachal is from September
to March.
• The temperature of Himachal
Pradesh is highly dependent on
altitude. The average altitude of the
region is from 350 meter to 700
meter above sea level

5. C L I M A T I C Z O N E S O N T H E M A P

6. P H Y S I C A L
F E A T U R E S
• Himachal Pradesh occupies an
area of 55,673 sq km
• The Himachal Pradesh region
can be categorized into the
following Geographical Divisions:
The Shivaliks or the outer
Himalayas,The central zone or the
lesser Himalayas,The northern zone
or the great Himalayan and Zaskar
• The Chief Rivers of Himachal
Pradesh that have a significant
contribution towards the Natural
prosperity of the state
include:Chenab,Beas,Ravi,Yamuna
Sutlej,Spiti.

7. S P E C I A L
F E A T U R E S
• Since the valley is situated in rain
shadow area, north of the Pir Panjal
ranges the weather remains pleasant
and quite comfortable during
summers i.e. from May to mid Oct.
This is the best season to visit this
valley.
• It seldom rains, and the Mercury
level does not exceed 300c and never
falls below 150 c through out the
period
• There is little or no rain in monsoons.
The climate remains dry &
invigorating. The days are hot and
night are extremely cold.

8. T H E P H Y S I C A L M A P

9. E C O L O G I C A L S Y S T E M
• The ecology of the Himalayas varies with climate,
rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from
tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice
and snow at the highest elevations.
• The amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to
east along the southern front of the range.

10. • The survey conducted by Forest Department of India defines total forest area of the
state to be 66.52%. However, the total area covered by trees includes just 25.78%.
• The complete vegetation of this region relies on two factors - height and rainfall. The
southernmost part of the state is at a lower altitude level and it contains both humid
and subtropical dry broadleaf woodlands, along with subtropical moist broadleaf
forests.
• The majority of area is covered by Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests. Apart from
this we also have some of the vegetation which is abundant with sal, sisham, chir pine,
dry deciduous and moist broad-leafed forests.
• The landscape which falls in temperate regions has some of the prominent trees like
oaks, deodar, blue pine, fir and spruce. Some of the commonly found trees in these
regions include Alders, birches, rhododendrons and moist alpine scrubs. The
rhododendron is a common type of tree in the Shimla region and this is seen in
abundance in months between March to May.
Flora

11. • Himachal has abundant growth of fruits like apple, peaches,
plums and berries. It is rightly called the ‘fruit bowl of India’.
• There are plenty of fruit orchards and fruits are exported to
various parts of the country and abroad.
• Post winter season the hilly regions and orchards are full of
fruits.
• The pleasant climate helps numerous flower varieties like
gladiolas, lilies, tulips, chrysanthemums, roses, marigolds,
carnations etc to grow in abundance.

15. F A U N A
• The Western Tragopan (the state bird of Himachal
Pradesh) and the Monal pheasant are the prominent
birds species found in the region.
• the state animal is snow leopard
• amongst other fauna we have leopards bears etc

16. – S R A H A N
BHIMA KALI TEMPLE

18. C L I M A T E R E S P O N S E

19. F A C T O R S
I N F L U E N C I N G
:
• solar radiation
• ambient temperature
• air humidity
• precipitation
• wind
• sky condition

20. S O L A R
R A D I A T I O N
• Considering the seasonal influence, Himachal Pradesh receives
average insolation of 5.99 kWh/m²/day in the warm summer months of
March, April and May; 5.89 kWh/m²/day in the wet monsoon months of
June, July, August and September; 3.94 kWh/m²/day in the colder winter
months of endOctober, November, December, January and February.
• For the period from March to October the entire physiographic zones of
Himachal Pradesh receives insolation above 4 kWh/m²/day, favouring
commercial as well as domestic applications of solar energy.
• With the onset of winter by the end of October, the insolation in
Himachal Pradesh drops down and a low insolation period prevails till
the end of February.

22. A M B I E N T
T E M P E R A T U R
E
• There is a huge variation in the climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh
due to variation in altitude (450–6500 metres). The climate varies from hot
and sub-humid tropical (450–900 metres) in the southern low tracts, warm
and temperate (900–1800 metres), cool and temperate (1900–2400
metres) and cold glacial and alpine (2400–4800 metres) in the northern
and eastern high elevated mountain ranges.
• By October, nights and mornings are very cold. Snowfall at elevations of
nearly 3000 m is about 3 m and lasts from December start to March end.
About 4500 m, is perpetual snow.
• The spring season starts from mid February to mid April. The weather is
pleasant and comfortable in the season.

23. W I N D
• Wind speed collected for the 11 sites shows wind speed
increase for two occasions in a year.
• The first rise in wind speed happens during March which
resides by June/July and again rises in September/October
after the rainy season.
• This trend is not seen for Bhuntar where there is a single rise
in wind speed reaching its peak in July/August.

25. P R E C I P I T A T I O
N
• The Weather and Climate of Himachal Pradesh becomes very beautiful
after the rainy season.
• The landscape of the place become lush green. But heavy rains often
cause floods and landslides causing destruction to life and property.
• The highest amount of rainfall that has been recorded in Dharmasala is
3400 mm.
• The annual rainfall of Himachal Pradesh is 2909 to 3800 mm. The
average temperature in the summer months vary from 22 degrees to 37
degree Celsius. The temperature varies from 0 degree to 15 degree
Celsius.

26. S K Y
C O N D I T I O N
• summers :sunny and bright
• monsoon: cloudy and misty
• winters :clear sky sunny but chilly .

27. C L I M A T I C
Z O N E S
• hot and dry
• warm and humid
• moderate
• cold and cloudy
• cold and sunny

28. index climatic zones

29. K A N G R A
S U B T R O P I C A L F O O T H I L L S

30. M A N A L I
H I L L Y A N D A L P I N E

31. K I N N A U R
A L P I N E Z O N E

32. L A H A U L A N D S P I T I
H O T A N D D R Y

33. K A T H K H U N I
C L I M A T I C C O N D I T I O N A F F E C T I N G T H E A R C H I T E C T U R E

34. • indigenous architecture
• locally available resources
• emerged out of hard
necessities of the place and
lifestyle
• built by themselves
• far less specialisation
• dwellings of professional
traditions and customs
features

35. C O N S T R U C T I
O N
• the roofs are made of slate which doest
let the sun rays pass through and settles
the wind
• the houses are usually build of stones
and wood for temperature purposes
• as the wood cools down during the
summers and gets up during the winters
• also the interior of the house have
normal whitewash to keep it simple
• the houses have a strong base
himachal being close to earthquake
areas have wooden log bases to take
the vibration .the houses have slanting
roof due to the strong sunrise to reflect .

37. R A M P U R B U S H A H R
PADAM PALACE